The present invention relates to a method and to an apparatus for determining the anatomic condition of components of the body of a human or of an animal and also to an exercise machine, in particular an adjustable exercise machine and to a computer program stored on a storage medium.
Although the present invention is principally concerned with diseases of the joints and soft tissues, or their therapeutic treatment and rehabilitation and also with corresponding apparatuses, the term “osteoporosis” and the significance of the illness should be briefly explained in order to be better able to explain the invention.
In accordance with various sources there are in Germany about 6–8 million people suffering from osteoporosis. As a result of the ¼ million fractures, in particular fractures of the neck of the femur, the cost of treating osteoporosis and the consequence of osteoporosis reach a sum in the tens of billions.
The bone substance undergoes a physiological restructuring. The cells which build up the bone mass and for example repair it after fracture are osteoblasts. They take calcium and other minerals from the blood and bind it in the bones. In this manner the bone substance becomes stronger. The other type of cells which break down bone substance and prevent excess bone growth are named osteoclasts.
In the physiological condition equilibrium exists between the two processes. With increasing age the decomposition of bones takes the upper hand. Some sources state that from the 25th year of life onwards there is an increased break down of the bones, both in men and also in women.
Stated simply one understands under the term osteoporosis a porous fragile bone. Medically one has to distinguish it however from a relatively rare illness, osteomalacia. Both osteoporosis and also osteomalacia fall medically beneath the generic term osteopenie.
Independently of the causes of osteoporosis in women and men the same picture generating measures are used. The bone density is most frequently investigated by means of computer tomography. This method has however many disadvantages, such as exposure to radiation and influencing of the measurement results in the lower LWS by changes such as spondylophytes, osteochondrosis etc.
The increasingly most frequent method is the measurement with ultra sound. The patients are however here forced into orthopaedic and gynaecological practices in order to undergo an ultrasonic investigation. The precision of this measurement is, however, hitherto very unreliable as is known from the literature and from daily practice. The bone densitometry by means of ultra sound takes place in a frequency range from 200 kHz to 1 MHz and is additionally restricted by the legally prescribed health insurers. This is done for two reasons: on the one hand, as a result of the relatively high costs amounting to an average of 80–130 DM per investigation and, on the other hand, as a result of the above discussed unreliability of this method.
X-ray diagnosis only reliably shows osteoporotic changes when the reduction in bone density has passed about 30 percent. Densitometrie is in such cases no longer useful. Appropriate treatment is commenced even without this investigation.
The object of the invention is to set forth a new method and a new apparatus with which one can reliably carry out a series of investigations and diagnoses in connection with the anatomic condition of components of the body of an human or of an animal at favourable cost and indeed without having to carry out medical surgery or to take samples.